EUobserver takes a deep dive into the workings and new chairs of every single European Parliament committee for the new 2024-2029 session, in a series of articles first published in our print magazine of October 2024
The European fishing industry has come under enormous pressure in recent years, facing unprecedented challenges, mainly related to climate change and biodiversity-loss – but also industrial and high-impact fishing practices that are putting additional pressure on already fragile ecosystems.
On top of that, Brexit, the Covid pandemic, and, most recently, Russia's war in Ukraine have also created market uncertainty, shortages of raw materials and a sharp rise in fuel and fish-feed prices, negatively affecting fisheries and aquaculture communities.
As the EU continues to be one of the world's largest markets for fish and aquaculture products, reforming the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing will be key priorities for the new EU parliament’s fisheries committee.
“The primary sector, including agriculture and fisheries, demand our help to solve the problems caused by excessive demands without time, without resources, and with a scenario of war conflicts and rising costs,” the chair of the fisheries committee, Spanish centre-right MEP Carmen Crespo Díaz said at the September plenary parliament session in Strasbourg.
Each year, the European Commission and EU member states negotiate total allowable fish catches, a critical part of the EU's role in the EU seafood industry — a sector that supports 3.6 million jobs and generates nearly €624bn in turnover.
However, campaigners complain that many of these quotas remain above the sustainable limits recommended by scientific experts, increasing the risk of over-exploiting fish stocks in EU sea waters and fueling long-standing tensions between the fishing industry and environmental advocates.
Talks of EU fishing quotas trigger strong emotions among policymakers from coastal regions with important fishing communities, such as Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland and Baltic Sea countries.
Arguing that her committee would defend the Mediterranean and Atlantic fishing sector, Crespo Diaz has defended the need for so-called ‘mirror clauses’ in third-countries agreements, ensuring a level playing field for European fishermen.
The new MEP, who comes from a port town in southern Almeria and did not respond to repeated requests for comments from EUobserver, recently called on the commission to recognise the effort made by the Mediterranean fishing fleet to improve the levels of sustainability for the distribution of fishing days and quotas. She also urged more socio-economic impact assessments when considering further cuts on certain quotas.
Various technical reports from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization already point to a recovery of certain stocks and species in the Mediterranean, she argued. “This is why we must advocate in this committee for considering the reports indicating stock recovery in the Mediterranean to reduce the drastic demands placed [on the region],” Crespo Díaz told MEPs in her committee.
“We are aware that it is important to ensure the fisheries resources and the good state of the marine ecosystem, but the truth is that in recent years, it has been causing an imbalance by giving too much priority to the environmental issue to the detriment of the necessary maintenance of companies and ensuring the welfare of society,” she concluded.
EU member states have committed to restoring 20 percent of their lands and waters by 2030, including restoring 30 percent of habitats in poor condition by 2030.
The PECH coordinators are: Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain), André Rodrigues (S&D, Portugal), Ton Diepeveen (PfE, the Netherlands), Stephen Nikola Bartulica (ECR, Croatia), Emma Wiesner (Renew, Sweden), Isabella Lövin (Greens, Sweden), Emma Fourreau (The Left, France), and Siegbert Droese (ESN, Germany).
Elena is EUobserver's Managing Editor. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.
Elena is EUobserver's Managing Editor. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE.